Page 68: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2016)

WORKBOAT ANNUAL uall challenge in the maritim u ual challenge in the maritime ership has resulted in infra- industryHowdoyoudoit? industry. How do you do it? structure investment?

The challenge is attracting the younger I think their investment is visible in all generation. It’s not always a glamorous aspects of our business. We’ve invested business. You have to have an industrial in equipment like carnage, burning and sense; but once they get in the business and cutting equipment. We’ve made brick and work it for a few years, I think they become mortar investments and in out? tting build- intrigued with the maritime history and ings; recently we’ve invested in property lineage. You ? nd that lineage a lot around in the form of a neighboring shipyard

Sturgeon Bay; generations and whole fam- (Palmer Johnson) that became available. ilies have worked at the shipyard. The aura We’ve built a ? oating drydock (2012). of building a large vessel and seeing it sail Since 2009, Fincantieri has invested away, or accomplishing a large repair job more than $40 million in our operation.

….. that alone tends to build on itself and helps to keep key employees excited about

Can you tell me a bit more the maritime business. about the Palmer Johnson ac-

Do you see attitudes changing quisition?

The courtship was more than a year at all?

long and we ? nalized the purchase in

I think the tide is turning, and the State the spring of 2016. It started out as a of Wisconsin is working hard to let the request to rent some warehouse space, younger generation know that it’s okay and it turned into an acquisition of build- to take up a trade; to become a pipe ? tter, ings that ? t well within our current op- to become a welder, etc. You can make a eration. It really was a unique deal, and good living with industrial means.

I don’t think you would get the chance again to buy property that is literally

Obviously the acquisition by homogenous to your existing property.

These are buildings purposefully built

Fincantieri was a signi? cant for maritime activities, so it seemed to point in this facilities history.

Barge under construction in Large Graving Dock make sense. It adds capacity. We view it

Can you point to how its own- as an extension of our fabrication build- 68 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • NOVEMBER 2016

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